Steelers vs. Browns Review

Wow. See, I had this weird feeling that the Browns were actually going to show up yesterday. Guess I was wrong on that, which is fine.

I'm actually surprised that they fired GM Phil Savage before the game yesterday, but waited until today to fire Crennel. I mean, everyone knew he was gone, but I figured the Browns will pull a Mike-Tice-Don't-Even-Wait-Until-He-Gets-Back-to-His-Office-Directly-After-the-Game kind of firing. I seriously thought that Randy Learner was going to come down to the field in the fourth quarter, stay close to Crennel, and grab him and fire him before Crennel had a chance to shake Tomlin's hand.

A few thoughts on the game:

1. The Browns had 26 yards passing yesterday. On 18 attempts. That's 1.44 yards per pass attempt. They don't even have a word for how bad that is. But, I'm thinking that, if the Oxford English Dictionary sanctions one, it will involve several profanities tied together, followed by the sound of a cat being kicked across the room. I have a feeling that it will be some time before the word actually appears in the dictionary, though, since their staff will need to agree on how to spell the sound a cat makes when you kick it across the room.
2. If you take net yards, that's 1.11 yards per attempt. Also recall that Josh Cribbs had eight yards passing on two attempts. So their kick returner and fourth string receiver actually helped their yards per attempt.
3. Everyone is up in arms about the fact that Roethlisberger was still in the game at the end of the first half and he shouldn't have been because it was a meaningless game and what the hell was Tomlin thinking and... what if he got hurt on the third play of the game? Or the second series? Tomlin was trying to send a message to his players that their effort in the Titans game was unacceptable and that every game matters. He needed to keep starters in until they proved they were putting forth maximum effort and they sure weren't at the time Ben got hurt. They had only scored seven points on offense and were shut out in the first quarter. If they wanted to rest -- Ben in particular -- they should have played better. If they jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter, Leftwich would've come in, the reserve offensive linemen would've come in, Gary Russell would have come in... but, the offense decided to suck. Ben's as much to blame as Tomlin for the injury.
4. I think he plays in the playoff game, but I'm concerned about how "with it" he'll be at that point. The injury reminded me a lot of the injury that Tommy Maddox had in 2002. Remember when he came back too early from that injury? Lemme refresh you. Maddox had three turnovers that directly lead to 21 points for the Texans. They had 47 total yards and won. David Carr threw for 33 yards (3-for-10 passing) and won. And Maddox called a timeout with one second left in the third quarter and the clock running. We can't have Ben in there if he's like that. Not in the playoffs.
5. I'm hesitant to announce that Fast Willie is back, because it was against the Browns, but he did look a lot more explosive, he got to the outside in a hurry, and was able to blow by people at the second level.
6. Didja notice a common theme on Sunday? When Willie was successful, my buddy Laszlo noticed that it was when the Steelers lined up in the I-Formation. When they lined up in a single back formation, the results were not as good. If we're not going to bring back Dan Kreider, we can at least stick with the I-Formation. I've never been a fan of the single back look and, if the Steelers are committed to Fast Willie and running the ball, that's the best way to do it. He's stated previously that he prefers to have a lead blocker in front of him to running out of a single back formation. So... why not use the system that works best for him?
7. We needed to win this game and we needed to win big. I'm glad that we finished 12-4, not 11-5. That one extra win was important for some reason.
8. I know I've mentioned this before but, the longer he's coach, the more I like Tomlin. And, I'm not saying anything bad about Cowher, but I find myself forgetting about Cowher more and more every day, especially since they seem to have placed Steely McBeam at the bottom of a well with Ted Levine yelling at him about putting the lotion in the basket. They don't show him on TV and I haven't seen him at games. I'm not worried about him, but it's just interesting that he went away so quickly and quietly.
   
9. I'm not sure if I'd rather be a Bengals fan, a Lions fan, or a Browns fan right about now. At least with the Lions and Bengals, you knew coming into the season that they would suck. Remember 1998? Remember how much that hurt? Imagine that, times ten, plus Ken Dorsey and that's what Cleveland's fans are going through right now. Remember 2006? I'd imagine it has to suck a little like that, except that the Browns just narrowly missed the playoffs in 2007, they didn't win the Super Bowl or anything.
10. I mentioned that recently, right? That the Steelers won Super Bowl XL? Well, I mentioned it now just in case.